gearsofwarfandomcom-20200222-history
Gnasher Shotgun
The Gnasher Shotgun is a lever-action, short-barreled combat shotgun that is commonly deployed by the Coalition of Ordered Governments' Gears. It is comparatively small and easy to aim, making it exceptionally useful for close encounters. It possesses both phenomenal firepower and momentous Stopping Power, making it ideal for persuading enemies to keep their distance. Its lever-action design is intended to keep the weapon's size and weight down while making it easier to reload after shooting. As a Shotgun, the Gnasher fires rounds loaded with buckshot - this results in a spray of ammunition over a cone-shaped trajectory. Because of this, the Gnasher is not particularly difficult to aim and is devastating at a range of point blank to 8 meters - often taking down man-sized targets in one single blast. At slightly longer ranges, it is still formidable, but not nearly as destructive. At longer ranges, the weapon's wide scatter pattern makes it rather ineffective. Though designed and built by the COG, the Locust Horde has shown a particular liking for the Gnasher, and is well-known for salvaging and using it. Locust Grenadiers make extensive use of the weapon, as do Grenadier Elites. Some Drones make use of the shotgun as well, as do some Theron Guards and Palace Guards. Tactical Use The Gnasher is, simply put, one of the least-forgiving weapons in Gears of War. It can be either shatteringly powerful or borderline-useless depending on how and where you use it, and actually making the most of it requires a fair amount of practice. Many newer players (and indeed, many veterans as well) eschew the Gnasher, ignoring it outright or ditching it for some other firearm as soon as possible - in spite of the fact that it's one of the stronger pieces of your starting equipment. The Gnasher is, however, a deadly weapon when used correctly. It is capable of instantly dispatching of many foes at close range (even on Execution), and its wide scatter pattern means that at close range, even a less-than-ideal shot causes massive damage and can stop an enemy dead in their tracks. A timely Perfect Reload can make it even better, making even slightly mis-aimed shots absolutely lethal (and making it capable of dropping a Drone on Insane in one shot). Close-range shots from the Gnasher will also splatter the hapless target's screen with blood, somewhat blinding them and making a follow-up shot all the more deadly. The Gnasher is considerably easier to use in a close-combat fight than the Lancer's Chainsaw Bayonet, as any significant damage taken will stop one from using the chainsaw. This advantage is further accentuated by the Gnasher having fairly high melee damage, and by the fact that in order to maximize the Gnasher's damage, one has to fire from close range - and melee range complements this purpose. In fact, a strategy dubbed the "2-Piece" was made popular in Gears of War 2, where a player with the Gnasher rushed an enemy, melee, and quickly fire the shotgun for an easy kill. Recently, this task has become harder to achieve because of a recent update to Gears of War 2. A similar tactic that has been patched but is still possible in the first game is known as "bodying". A player would Roadie-Run up to an enemy and fire right away, blowing the target to bits and appearing that they body-checked the enemy, destroying them. A close up headshot with the Gnasher will completely obliterate a Drones head. With Boomers, it will take 3-5 head shots(depending on the difficulty) to have the same gory result. The spine is visible after a headshot with the Gnasher, which should be noted if one is conducting a quick autopsy in the field. At slightly longer ranges, the Gnasher remains useful - it loses the devastating close-range punch it's known for at ranges of over 8 meters, but the wide spread means you have a good shot at damaging more evasive targets - and while the Lancer and Hammerburst are both considerably better out to medium range, the Gnasher can be infinitely easier to actually hit targets with. Make a note however that the Gnasher isn't particularly good at this range; it's merely tolerable. At longer ranges, the Gnasher is, admittedly, useless. It needs to be used in close-combat to get the most out of it, and practice is needed to get the feel for its unique spread-shot pattern. It excels in tight terrain - so it works very well in urban environments such as corridors and tunnel fights or any other tight/closed in spaces. In single-player, it is incredibly effective against Wretches, as well as Sires and other enemies that need to get close, such as Tickers (which take only one shot to kill regardless of range). Naturally, it also does well against other players in multiplayer, provided if in close-quarters. The Gnasher's ammo capacity is rather limited - this will force you to reload often. However, if you are taking cover behind a small barrier, and an enemy is on the other side or is attempting to vault over it, it is very effective to blind fire above your cover with the shotgun, as this will almost always succeed in causing heavy damage if not destroy the foe entirely. Note that the Gnasher maintains, more-or-less, the same accuracy when fired from the hip as it does when aimed, meaning it's one of the most effective weapons in the game for firing on the move. A general rule of thumb is to aim slightly above your character's shoulder on screen while blind firing, or to use the Crimson Omen damage marker as makeshift crosshairs per usual. Many players are extremely aggressive with the Gnasher. In the original Gears of War, the Gnasher was one of the overall best weapons period for aggressive tactics, but this changed in Gears of War 2 with the advent of weapons having Stopping Power. Now, it is used far more solidly as a close-combat-only weapon - but this has not changed the aggressive nature of many veterans. Gnasher specialists work at getting close ASAP - especially from unexpected angles - and dealing a finishing blow with one blast of buckshot. There's a lot of reasons to use this tactic, but the fundamental reason is that the Shotgun is capable of one-shot kill, including headshots. Many Shotgun veterans pride themselves on engaging rival Shotgun veterans in Shotgun Duels, but this practice has dramatically decreased courtesy of the Gnasher's myriad changes from the original Gears of War. What some veterans do as a tactic is what they call wall-bouncing , doing a repetitious way of bouncing off the walls to evade the opponents attack. It is a good maneuver in many situations but if used incorrectly it can get you killed in an instant. Gears of War 3 In Gears of War 3 the gnasher will have included increase in fire speed along with 8 round burst. It will be balanced out with the Sawed-Off Double-Barrel Shotgun. Trivia *The Gnasher Shotgun is the only weapon that does not have "affiliation lights" as with all the other weapons in Gears of War. *When a player reloads the shotgun, the character spin-cocks the lever (Spinning the shotgun in a fasion popularized by Arnold Scharzenegger in Terminator 2). *The Gnasher Shotgun is included in the new Benjamin Carmine action figure. *The Gnasher got a slight balancing in Gears of War 2; its rounds fly slower and the advent of Stopping Power has affected the way the shotgun is used when compared with Gears of War 1. *The buckshot of the Gnasher in the original Gears of War sprayed in a random pattern, much like a real shotgun; however, in Gears of War 2 it always sprays in the same x-like spread. Note: This was changed with the release of Title Update 6 and the Gnasher now sprays in a random pattern. *Victor Hoffman, Augustus Cole, and Dominic Santiago all make use of it as well. *Unless you play as host or local matches, blood will not splatter on your screen from close range Shotgun blasts like it does in the campaign mode. *The Gnasher has its own finishing move, achieved by using the "quick execution" (with the "B" button). The player performs a quick, golfclub-like swing into the downed player's head, finishing them off with a harsh strike to the skull. *At close range, at least a foot away from the enemy target, the Gnasher shotgun literally cuts the target in half from the shot. Category:Weapons Category:COG Category:Gears of War 2 weapons